Baby’ sorry for fight

The Celtics decided to fine Glen “Big Baby” Davis an undisclosed amount, but ended his suspension after two games for breaking his right thumb late Sunday night in a fistfight with a friend.

Davis’ thumb is in a cast after undergoing surgery Tuesday and he isn’t expected to be able to play for six weeks.

“I felt like I let a lot of people down and it hurts, it really hurts,” Davis said during a press conference before last night’s game. “Like I said, it’s a character builder and I can let this make me or break me, and I choose to let this make me be the man I need to be to help the Celtics.”

Davis apologized to everyone who would listen — ownership, his coaches, his teammates, and the fans.

“When this happened,” Davis said, “it was tough thinking about all the hard work I had put in and it made me realize that I’m not where I need to be as a professional because professionals make the right decisions at crucial moments and, at that time, I didn’t. I have a lot of work to do in order to be the player I need to be, and also the man I need to be.”

Asked his reaction to the night of the fistfight, Davis replied, “It was…”

“Stupid,” Davis agreed. “It was a stupid mistake, like Danny said. It’s something that I will most definitely learn from.”

The Celtics decided against suspending Davis for the entire time he’ll be sidelined.

“We want him around the team,” Ainge explained. “We want him with the team on the road, we want him working out and conditioning with the team and continuing to learn everything we’re doing right now to progress and move forward.”

Coach Doc Rivers said the team accepted Davis’ apology.

“Obviously,” Rivers said, “it’s going to take a little bit of time, but they didn’t beat him up or anything like that because they didn’t want to break their hand.”

“I’m just thankful,” Davis said, “the organization, the fans, everybody, the Boston Celtics are welcoming me back with open arms.”

Rivers dispelled any notion that Davis proved to be a better offensive player than Kevin Garnett in the playoffs last season.

“He’s probably the best passing big man in the league,” Rivers said of Garnett. “He’s probably the best pick-setter, as a matter of a fact. No, we’re a better team with Garnett on the floor offensively and defensively. There’s no doubt about that.”

Rivers pointed out that opponents guard Garnett, but they sagged off Davis during the playoffs because they weren’t convinced he could make shots.

“Sometimes we get lost in numbers and why guys have numbers,” he said.

Rivers thought Brian Scalabrine (sprained ankle) might be ready to play last night, but now he’s shooting for tomorrow night here against New Orleans. Tony Allen (ankle) and Bill Walker (knee) aren’t close to returning yet.

Because today’s deadline to extend contracts falls on a Saturday, the league decided to put it off until Monday. So, the Celtics have a couple more days to work out an extension for Rajon Rondo.